First United Methodist Church (FUMC) is located on North Lakeview Avenue, in historic downtown Winter Garden, a stone’s throw from City Hall and the Farmer’s Market. Our church was founded in 1895, and we celebrated our 120th anniversary in March 2015!

Our congregation is deeply embedded in the Winter Garden community. We sponsor Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, as well as hosting many other community organizations on our campus. We also operate a popular preschool, The Learning Center, founded in 1992.

We are committed to Building Life-Changing Christian Relationships. In addition to our two Sunday worship services, our church offers programs to support you during every stage of your faith journey. Connecting on Wednesdays (COW) offers small groups for instruction in the faith for every age and interest; they meet for 90 minutes after supper in Fellowship Hall. Our groups include G3, for children 4-10, and Reel Youth, for middle school and high school students, as well as many options for adults.

Following in the Methodist tradition, our people love to sing, pray, learn more about God and serve others. We invite you to join one of our many teams, including our local and global mission teams.

Join us!

Who We Are

The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a Methodist Christian denomination that is both mainline Protestant and Evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley within the Church of England. As such, the church's theological orientation is decidedly Wesleyan. It embraces both liturgical and evangelical elements.

In the United States, the UMC ranks as the largest mainline denomination, the second largest Protestant church after the Southern Baptist Convention, and the third largest Christian denomination. As of 2009, worldwide membership was about 12 million: 7.7 million in the United States and Canada, and 4.4 million in Africa, Asia and Europe. It is a member of the World Council of Churches, the World Methodist Council, and other religious associations.

Our Mission

To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:19-20)

Our Beliefs

The United Methodist Church seeks to create disciples for Christ through outreach, evangelism, and through seeking holiness, also called sanctification, by the power of the Holy Spirit. The flame in the church logo represents the work of the Holy Spirit in the world, and the two parts of the flame also represent the predecessor denominations, the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren, united at the base symbolizing the 1968 merger.

The United Methodist Church understands itself to be part of the holy catholic (or universal) church and it recognizes the historic ecumenical creeds, the Apostle's Creed and the Nicene Creed; which are used frequently in services of worship. The Book of Discipline also recognizes the importance of the Chalcedonian Creed of the Council of Chalcedon. It upholds the concept of the "visible and invisible Church," meaning that all who are truly believers in every age belong to the holy Church invisible, while the United Methodist Church is a branch of the Church visible, to which all believers must be connected as it is the only institution wherein the Word of God is preached and the Sacraments are administered.

While many United Methodist congregations operate in the evangelical tradition, others reflect the mainline Protestant traditions. Although United Methodist practices and interpretation of beliefs have evolved over time, these practices and beliefs can be traced to the writings of the church's founders, especially John Wesley and Charles Wesley (Anglicans), but also Philip William Otterbein and Martin Boehm (United Brethren), and Jacob Albright (Evangelical Association). With the formation of The United Methodist Church in 1968, theologian Albert C. Outler led the team which systematized denominational doctrine. Outler's work proved pivotal in the work of union, and he is largely considered the first United Methodist theologian.